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What are your unpopular opinions about health / fitness?

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  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    So with all this talk about logging exercise and food accurately I have a question. (yes I realize that that makes this off topic but the topic is what triggers the question)

    I was using Fat Secret for a few years, and I think I still prefer it... but MFP actually shares information with Nokia Health Mate, Google Fit, and some other apps I use...
    Observations:
    FS allows you to enter everything in grams or milliliters but MFP has some "1 piece" or imperial only, which is awkward when I use a scale or measuring cup for almost everything.
    FS has calorie counts for almost any activity you can imagine, even sex. I only log actual exercise, and it does not change my caloric budget for the day. (I prefer this because it's easier to stick with roughly the same macros regardless of whether I lift or not on any particular day)
    MFP lists tons of exercises, and allows me to even enter sets, reps, and weight... but has no calorie value for any of them?
    MFP DOES pull the most useless value from Google Fit... steps. It gives this a calorie value and wants to add to my budget for the day but an hour and a half of pounding the heaviest weights I can manage with good form doesn't count??

    Ultimately I am now logging in 2 apps and entering my training in Google Fit... this completely defeats the purpose of automation!

    The question (finally)...
    Is there a way to enter my lifting in MFP that would make sense?
    I would be perfectly happy with a generic "intense weight training" and the length of the session giving me a rough calorie estimate. That's what FS, Google Fit, and LG Health all do. (but MFP only pulls "steps")
    Again, I don't want it to change my calorie budget, but I would like to have the information available to see if I'm running a deficit, surplus, or maintenance.

    "Strength training (weight lifting, weight training)" is an entry in the MFP "cardio" exercise database, and has a (low) calorie burn estimate attached.

    I track my strength training calories with my HRM and it generally gives me a calorie burn of 3-4 calories per minute, which is ballpark what the tables estimate. My unpopular opinion is that HRMs provide reasonable calorie burn estimates, even for non-steady state exercises.

    That's the gross calorie burn, which includes your BMR. Mine does the same.

    I've logged strength training using MFP's data base, and I really have no problem trusting my Fitbit in exercise mode for strength training. I get a reasonably small burn and adjustment.

    I lifted this afternoon and just ran some numbers, figuring out the net burn I'd get from Fitbit vs. what I'd get by logging on MFP. There's a whopping 6 calorie difference.

    Yep, I've used my HRM from day one for all of my exercise (apart from yoga or stretching) and have always eaten all of those calorie adjustments. Always accurate. People just have to apply common sense with these things ie. test your own results over time.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    mmapags wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    I think the "don't log it" perspective is an important and valuable perspective for people to hear and consider. How many of us have people on our feeds who regularly log 20 minutes of light cleaning, and then complain that they don't lose weight?

    In thinking about this, I have my maintenance calories set at 1380 when they should be somewhat higher; I tend to be sloppy on a lot of my logging and this buffer accommodates for the sloppiness, as well as the gardening days where I am, say, spending too much time working on a knot or repairing some netting or staking tomatoes instead of digging the potatoes or some such. I guess we all have our work-arounds.

    This is exactly why I think most people should not. I had one person in my feed that would log light cleaning, shopping and walking the dog for 10 minutes. After 6 years they had lost 20 lbs and complained constantly about how hard it was to lose. They had to go.

    Something vigorous and or sustained, I can see it. But a little weeding the front flower bed? Not so much.
    @mmapags
    My view is that it's a matter of degree and significance to an individual.
    My 15 minute walk or 5 minute cycle to my local station is a regular and normal part of my life. When I choose to do a 4 mile round trip to the next station I figure that just compensates for days I work from home.
    But when the trains are out of service and I cycle a 36 round trip to work because if I don't turn up for work I don't get paid that's significant. It's not for fitness but my body doesn't know that.

    Same I apply to my gardening - regular maintenance is part of life and not logged but if I spend hours cutting down a tree and logging/shredding it then that's significant.
    For me I work on roughly 10% of my base casame lories as being significant. Which is a fair amount for me on a high calorie allowance but not a lot of calories for the infamous 1200 cals a day crew.

    It might even motivate people to be more active which is only a good thing.

    Yup, we're on the same page.

    I agree with the premise that some rare activities should be logged as well...

    I am talking about things like taking the dog around the block so it poops..
    I am talking about weeding the flowers in the spring
    I am talking about tilling the garden with a tiller...not breaking new ground for a garden of a decent size but tilling your exisiting garden.

    But cleaning because you are sweating? no....
    Cleaning a bathroom for 45min no
    moving furniture to clean no
    "deep cleaning" anything no
    even the 3.5 hours of volunteering for the animal shelter clean up...no I wouldn't log it...



    but those are the things that people are logging and saying that others should too..."in the other thread".

  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,958 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    I think the "don't log it" perspective is an important and valuable perspective for people to hear and consider. How many of us have people on our feeds who regularly log 20 minutes of light cleaning, and then complain that they don't lose weight?

    In thinking about this, I have my maintenance calories set at 1380 when they should be somewhat higher; I tend to be sloppy on a lot of my logging and this buffer accommodates for the sloppiness, as well as the gardening days where I am, say, spending too much time working on a knot or repairing some netting or staking tomatoes instead of digging the potatoes or some such. I guess we all have our work-arounds.

    This is exactly why I think most people should not. I had one person in my feed that would log light cleaning, shopping and walking the dog for 10 minutes. After 6 years they had lost 20 lbs and complained constantly about how hard it was to lose. They had to go.

    Something vigorous and or sustained, I can see it. But a little weeding the front flower bed? Not so much.
    @mmapags
    My view is that it's a matter of degree and significance to an individual.
    My 15 minute walk or 5 minute cycle to my local station is a regular and normal part of my life. When I choose to do a 4 mile round trip to the next station I figure that just compensates for days I work from home.
    But when the trains are out of service and I cycle a 36 round trip to work because if I don't turn up for work I don't get paid that's significant. It's not for fitness but my body doesn't know that.

    Same I apply to my gardening - regular maintenance is part of life and not logged but if I spend hours cutting down a tree and logging/shredding it then that's significant.
    For me I work on roughly 10% of my base casame lories as being significant. Which is a fair amount for me on a high calorie allowance but not a lot of calories for the infamous 1200 cals a day crew.

    It might even motivate people to be more active which is only a good thing.

    Yup, we're on the same page.

    I agree with the premise that some rare activities should be logged as well...

    I am talking about things like taking the dog around the block so it poops..
    I am talking about weeding the flowers in the spring
    I am talking about tilling the garden with a tiller...not breaking new ground for a garden of a decent size but tilling your exisiting garden.

    But cleaning because you are sweating? no....
    Cleaning a bathroom for 45min no
    moving furniture to clean no
    "deep cleaning" anything no
    even the 3.5 hours of volunteering for the animal shelter clean up...no I wouldn't log it...



    but those are the things that people are logging and saying that others should too..."in the other thread".
    I think if you clean like that on a weekly basis you should set your profile up as "lightly active".
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
    J72FIT wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    I think the "don't log it" perspective is an important and valuable perspective for people to hear and consider. How many of us have people on our feeds who regularly log 20 minutes of light cleaning, and then complain that they don't lose weight?

    In thinking about this, I have my maintenance calories set at 1380 when they should be somewhat higher; I tend to be sloppy on a lot of my logging and this buffer accommodates for the sloppiness, as well as the gardening days where I am, say, spending too much time working on a knot or repairing some netting or staking tomatoes instead of digging the potatoes or some such. I guess we all have our work-arounds.

    This is exactly why I think most people should not. I had one person in my feed that would log light cleaning, shopping and walking the dog for 10 minutes. After 6 years they had lost 20 lbs and complained constantly about how hard it was to lose. They had to go.

    Something vigorous and or sustained, I can see it. But a little weeding the front flower bed? Not so much.
    @mmapags
    My view is that it's a matter of degree and significance to an individual.
    My 15 minute walk or 5 minute cycle to my local station is a regular and normal part of my life. When I choose to do a 4 mile round trip to the next station I figure that just compensates for days I work from home.
    But when the trains are out of service and I cycle a 36 round trip to work because if I don't turn up for work I don't get paid that's significant. It's not for fitness but my body doesn't know that.

    Same I apply to my gardening - regular maintenance is part of life and not logged but if I spend hours cutting down a tree and logging/shredding it then that's significant.
    For me I work on roughly 10% of my base casame lories as being significant. Which is a fair amount for me on a high calorie allowance but not a lot of calories for the infamous 1200 cals a day crew.

    It might even motivate people to be more active which is only a good thing.

    Yup, we're on the same page.

    I agree with the premise that some rare activities should be logged as well...

    I am talking about things like taking the dog around the block so it poops..
    I am talking about weeding the flowers in the spring
    I am talking about tilling the garden with a tiller...not breaking new ground for a garden of a decent size but tilling your exisiting garden.

    But cleaning because you are sweating? no....
    Cleaning a bathroom for 45min no
    moving furniture to clean no
    "deep cleaning" anything no
    even the 3.5 hours of volunteering for the animal shelter clean up...no I wouldn't log it...



    but those are the things that people are logging and saying that others should too..."in the other thread".
    I think if you clean like that on a weekly basis you should set your profile up as "lightly active".


    Kind of why I use TDEE and watch the scale some.
    In my case (I don't have a HRM) I'm usually building/repairing something on the weekends, but that's only maybe 9 months out of the year.
    Like this past Sunday. Spent 6 hours working on repair the deck. Loaded the lumber, hauled it to the back. Cut, hammer, nail or bolt into place, crawling around under and on top of the deck. Didn't log it as I have no idea how many extra calories I burned. But I did figure it gained me 2 extra Miller Lites :)

    And I'll get another 2 extra Miller Lites this coming weekend when I start rebuilding the retaining wall next to the patio.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    My unpopular opinion (probably depends on the generation) is that if you are full and it isn’t practical to save leftovers, then it is okay to throw food away. I think that the avoidance of food-wasting guilt causes people to overeat.

    Yes, I know there are babies with distended bellies in Africa who are starving to death, my mom told me that consistently throughout my childhood, and my parents always made us completely clean our plates or suffer the Depression Era guilt that was inflicted upon them by their parents. I try to avoid waste, but sometimes it just happens and I’m not stuffing myself if I have reached my limits.

    Do you not own a freezer?

    I hate waste, it's a bug bare of mine.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,257 Member
    edited August 2017
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    My unpopular opinion (probably depends on the generation) is that if you are full and it isn’t practical to save leftovers, then it is okay to throw food away. I think that the avoidance of food-wasting guilt causes people to overeat.

    Yes, I know there are babies with distended bellies in Africa who are starving to death, my mom told me that consistently throughout my childhood, and my parents always made us completely clean our plates or suffer the Depression Era guilt that was inflicted upon them by their parents. I try to avoid waste, but sometimes it just happens and I’m not stuffing myself if I have reached my limits.

    /agree and this was probably my biggest mental hurdle to overcome. Raised by two depression era parents, growing up working poor, and being boot camped I have issues not cleaning my plate.

    Think my wife and I both have done a good job overcoming this and teaching our kids to stop when full.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    mmapags wrote: »
    TR0berts wrote: »
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    My unpopular opinion (probably depends on the generation) is that if you are full and it isn’t practical to save leftovers, then it is okay to throw food away. I think that the avoidance of food-wasting guilt causes people to overeat.

    Yes, I know there are babies with distended bellies in Africa who are starving to death, my mom told me that consistently throughout my childhood, and my parents always made us completely clean our plates or suffer the Depression Era guilt that was inflicted upon them by their parents. I try to avoid waste, but sometimes it just happens and I’m not stuffing myself if I have reached my limits.

    Do you not own a freezer?

    I hate waste, it's a bug bare of mine.


    Some things simply don't freeze or reheat well, though. There are also times - if eating out before a movie, for instance - that the leftovers may sit in a hot car for a couple of hours. Or maybe there's just a couple of bites, to where it might be more wasteful to dirty a to-go container. There are a number of other possible reasons, but like he said - sometimes it isn't practical to save the leftovers.

    My wife can't stand to waste. So she wraps up every little leftover and puts it in the fridge. Once a week, I go though and throw away the stuff that is now unsafe and/ or growing mold. It's like our little ritual. ;)

    Here too. Every Thursday night before Friday trash day.
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    My unpopular opinion (probably depends on the generation) is that if you are full and it isn’t practical to save leftovers, then it is okay to throw food away. I think that the avoidance of food-wasting guilt causes people to overeat.

    Yes, I know there are babies with distended bellies in Africa who are starving to death, my mom told me that consistently throughout my childhood, and my parents always made us completely clean our plates or suffer the Depression Era guilt that was inflicted upon them by their parents. I try to avoid waste, but sometimes it just happens and I’m not stuffing myself if I have reached my limits.

    Do you not own a freezer?

    I hate waste, it's a bug bare of mine.

    So if I go to dinner on the way to a kids sporting event and my kids waste half of their dinners, do I scrape it into a to-go container and let it sit in a hot car for a few hours?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    My unpopular opinion (probably depends on the generation) is that if you are full and it isn’t practical to save leftovers, then it is okay to throw food away. I think that the avoidance of food-wasting guilt causes people to overeat.

    Yes, I had to teach myself this position, but I agree.

    No one else is affected if I waste food, and me eating food I don't want (whether because it's not worth the calories to me or I'm not hungry) is not helping anyone else and is hurting me.

    I go to a lot of plays and concerts and we often get a meal before, and I can't really bring my leftovers, so I often don't get the takehome box. I just let it go. For a while I felt like I was hurting someone's feelings by leaving (sometimes) lots of food and not taking it home, but I got over that.
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